Historic sketch of the Wilson HousePhotograph courtesy of the Ohio Historical Society

From the 1840s to the 1870s, well-to-do merchants and businessmen moved
to the College Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati, making it a prestigious
rural village characterized by large homes on spacious lots. The presence
of two colleges in College Hill attracted abolitionist Presbyterian educators.
These educational opportunities attracted Samuel and Sally Wilson, Presbyterians
who had been criticized while living in Reading, Ohio, for their abolitionist
view. Two of their seven children had previously attended the Cary
Academy in College Hill and in 1848 their daughter Mary became a charter
faculty member of the Ohio Female College there, which admitted
women and employed female faculty.

The Wilsons built their Greek Revival home in College Hill in 1849,
after which it became a station on the Underground Railroad until at
least 1852. During these years, ten members of the family lived in the
house, including four adult children, three grandchildren, and an aunt.
In this house the Wilson family made important contributions to the
history of the community through their leadership in American educational,
religious, political and civic events. The abolitionist efforts of three
of the adult children, Mary Jane Wilson Pyle, Harriet Nesmith Wilson,
and Joseph Gardner Wilson, are documented in many sources. Mary, widowed
in 1848, had been teaching at the College since then, while the youngest
daughter Harriet taught in local public schools for 30 years, and lived
at the Wilson house from 1849 until her death at age 95 in 1920. The
youngest son Joseph was also a local professor, and lived at home until
1852. Joseph collected apparel from the families of this students and
cooperated in obtaining disguises for runaways.

While the other four adults who lived in the house are not mentioned
by name in existing documentation, they probably assisted fugitive slaves
during the years that the house was used as a station. A local publication
by the Cincinnati Historic Society states "All the Wilson children
were active in the abolitionist movement and aided many Blacks to make
their way north by supplying food, clothing, and a hiding place."
In the early 20th century several groups of elderly African American
men returned to the house and asked to see the cellar where they had
once hidden and recognized the Wilson's former housekeeper, Christine
Gramm, still living at house where she had first been employed in the
1850s. An extensive letter written by Harriet Wilson in 1892 describes
her family's efforts helping slaves escape through College Hill. On
one occasion when pursuers were headed to College Hill to search for
runaway slaves, Harriet state "The women being 'entertained' by
our family were terribly frightened declaring 'that they would die rather
than be taken and carried back.' Though quite large in size they were
ready and willing to crawl through a small aperture into a dark cellar
where they would be safe." She states that her sister Mary "was
for many years a teacher. . .and were living could give you vivid pictures
of the workings of the Underground R.R., for but a few who traveled
by it to College Hill, but who were encouraged by her words of cheer
and aided by her helping hand." Harriet worked in Cincinnati and
returned to College Hill on the weekends. Prior to her trip home on
Friday evenings, she was given the number of slaves enroute to College
Hill so the "stations" were ready for their arrival. She recalls
that "frequently, when at home on Saturday and asking for some
article of clothing, I would receive the reply, 'Gone to Canada.'"

After the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, Harriet recalled
that "the work had become too well known. . . it was deemed wiser
to have it carried on by other less exposed routes so in the years immediately
preceding the civil war, there were comparatively none coming to the
Hill yet those interested in the cause of human rights did their part
financially to help in the work. . . "

The Samuel and Sally Wilson House is located at 1502 Aster Place,
in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is a private residence, and is not open to the
public.